Locket of blood
by sweetthings8
Summary: Escaping from an abusive and empty home, Four Year old Sakura Haruno meanders to the desert region of Suna and is adopted into the family of the Kazekage. After years under the protection of the Sand 3, Sakura returns to Konaha a new and dangerous woman.
1. Lullaby

Four year old Sakura opened her eyes, it was dark. Lifting her head with a grimace Sakura peeled her face from the cement; blood from a gash on her eyebrow had dried to the cement. Her head throbbed painfully and Sakura pressed her forefingers to her temples.

Memories from yesterday presented themselves to her; the villagers had done this, damn people. They had chased her into the alley she now laid in. They beat her black and blue. Sakura remained conscious long enough to hide herself from the eyes on the street.

Sakura killed her mother. When she was born her mother just… died. The doctors could give no reason for the horrible death. After the death was announced the hospital room filled with animal bones. Sakura was to blame. Along with her pink hair Sakura was viewed as a bad omen to the villagers. They figured if Sakura was able to summon the dead, she wasn't human. They could abuse a four year old with no ill afterthoughts.

Rising to her feet Sakura leaned against the alley wall. Waiting for her head to stop spinning Sakura mapped out the route to the shack she lived in. Her father abused her and blamed her for her mother's death; Sakura had never been welcomed in any home.

After limping to the shack, being sure no one had followed her, Sakura braced a 2x4 against the door. At least it would keep most people out. Sakura dropped down onto the mattress on the floor and rolled herself in the multiple holey blankets that littered the once grand bed.

Groaning, Sakura rolled onto her stomach and protesting ribs. Reaching over the edge of the mattress Sakura pulled a small box from the floor. Opening it one-handed, Sakura let her possessions spill out onto the mattress.

Picking up a crimson locket on a heavy chain, Sakura held the cool metal to her chest and let her beating heart warm the metal. Placing the locket in front of her face Sakura opened it and listened to the soft lullaby that came from it.

_Notice me, take my hand _

_Why are we strangers when _

_Our love is strong _

_Why carry on without me_

_Every time I see you in my dreams _

_I see your face, it's haunting me _

_I guess I need you, baby. _

The locket slipped from her limp, curled fingers and Sakura murmured in her sleep.

When Sakura woke in the morning she had come to a decision. She would leave the Village Of The Leaves. Rushing around Sakura collected her most valuable possessions in her little box and clasped her locket over her neck, letting it rest on her heart.

Exiting the hut Sakura wanted to laugh. This was the last time she's return. Taking her time, Sakura strolled around the village, taking in the places she had actually liked. Sitting under a cherry tree to watch the sun peak over the village walls was the longest she sat.

Sakura left the village during the change in watch guards; Sakura wasn't looking for any questions.

Sakura didn't know how long she ran, she covered 75 miles in 2 hours to be exact. As the vegetation became scarcer and the temperature began to rise, Sakura slowed her pace and took her time.

Sakura had expected the trees to go on forever.

Little patches of grains began appearing. Sakura steered clear of them. Fighting her way through a bush over her head Sakura gasped when she arrived on the other side. There was no green for miles. Steeping cautiously Sakura giggled when the sand shifted under her foot.

Sakura quickly decided that she liked the sand and began running again. For another hour Sakura ran. Walls loomed in the distance and Sakura picked up her speed, the thought of water and some shade urged her on.

'_Another village, finally!' _Sakura thought slowing her pace, there were guards. Pursing her lips Sakura looked around, a group of elderly people were approaching the gate, running stealthily Sakura grabbed hold of one of the men's robes and donned a mask of childish wonder.

The guards let them through without a problem, one of the even smiled at Sakura.

Letting go of the man Sakura ran through the crowd, leaving a pink blur in her wake. Sakura walked around after distancing herself from the village gate.

Looking around Sakura found the symbol of the village. "Suna." Sakura said, running the name over her tongue.

Giggling Sakura walked another few blocks. A park was hidden behind a large building and Sakura smiled when she found swings. Running to them Sakura sat on one and pumped her tiny legs, climbing high into the sky. After her flight Sakura studied the park, there wasn't an adult in sight only a few groups of children playing.

Still sitting Sakura pulled the locket over her head and opened it; the lullaby brought a little comfort in the foreign surroundings. The locket was ripped away by another child.

"Hey, give that back!" Sakura said indignantly, jumping to her feet. The older boy looked down at her and sneered.

"What'cha gonna do about it?" the boy asked mockingly. Lowering her head Sakura breathed in deeply and screamed, lunging at the boy. Taken by surprise, the boy fell and Sakura got a good hit to the noggin. From behind them Sakura noted steps. They must have attracted a crowd.

"Why did you take the girls locket?" A small, cool voice inquired from behind them. The boy under her froze; Sakura smacked him in the face, grabbed her locket and rolled away. When he didn't attack her Sakura looked up in surprise.

"It's Gaara!" he screamed, jumping to his feet he took off in the opposite direction.

Sakura blinked in surprise and cocked her head. Turning to the boy Sakura saw him walking away, running to get in front of him; Sakura was surprised to see a look of shock on his face.

"Well, lemme thank you properly." Sakura said looking the boy over. He was taller than her and his hair was an amazing red. For one so young, he had a tattoo that said 'love' on his forehead. His startling mint colored eyes were heavily rimmed in black. He was dressed in a beige poncho, black baggy pants and a set of strong sandals.

Steeling herself to meet a new person Sakura spread her tiny legs and stuck out her hand. "My name is Sakura Haruno, thank you for scaring that meaner away."

The boy's eyes widened even more and he took her hand cautiously. "Sabaku No Gaara." He said in greeting. "Aren't you gonna to run?" he asked slowly.

Sakura tilted her head and put her hands on her hips. "Why would I do that?" she asked. "Well, people don't like me because I have a demon in me so I can control sand." Gaara said in one breath, closing his eyes. He obviously expected her to run.

Sakura's eyes widened. "Show me!" she ordered, dragging Gaara over to the sandbox. Gaara followed, quite surprised, and sat Sakura in the sand. Concentrating lightly; he willed a handful of sand into the shape of a carnation. Sakura's eyes widened and she leaned forward in surprise, delight written across her face.

Gaara smiled and handed it to Sakura, "You can have it." He said coyly, holding it out to her. Sakura took it in gentle hands, leaping forward, Sakura hugged Gaara. He was so startled, he hugged her back.

Seeing the shock on his face Sakura looked down, a blush spreading over her face. "I-I'm sorry, that's the first present I've ever gotted." It was Gaara's turn to look confused. "Why?" he asked. Sakura pushed some sand around under her foot. "Well, in my old village, people didn't like me. Cuz I killted my mummy." Sakura said. Gaara's eyes widened. Their stories matched. "My mummy died too, no one likes me either, they all call me demon child." Gaara said, looking down too.

As first friendships go, the talk of sadness ended when a ball kicked their way went unclaimed. Gaara and Sakura played the rest of the day away, playing games like hide and seek, jump rope, and Gaara's amazingcal sand tricks.

But the sun had to set eventually. A teenage girl and a boy about a year older than them approached. "Gaara! Dad wants you home, you better hurry, or he'll hur-" the girl said, stopping dead a few feet away when she saw to youngsters hands linked together and the smiles on their faces.

"Did Gaara make you play with him?" the younger boy asked, shocked to see them together. Sakura giggled into her empty hand "No, Gaara-kun would never do that." She said, as if stating an obvious fact.

"Sakura-chan, these are my siblings; Temari and Kankuro." Gaara said, looking at Sakura's expression. "Sakura-chan's my new best friend!" Gaara said proudly to his siblings. They stared as though the children had told them the moon was made of cheese.

"Riiight. Well, Gaara, dad wants you home either way. Did you forget we were weapon shopping today?" Temari said slowly. Gaara looked down sadly. "We'll walk you home Sakura, it's too dangerous for you to be alone this late."

"I don't have a home." Sakura said quietly, moving closer to Gaara in the cold desert breeze. "They didn't like me and they hit me all the time, so I runned away." She said even quieter. Temari's face tightened, a sickened look crossed her face as she studied the injuries on Sakura's tiny frame.

"How long did it take you to get here?" Kankuro asked from behind Temari's legs. "I ran for three or four hours." Sakura said, running the figures over in her head. Temari gasped. "I don't think so dear, it takes a fully trained ANBU three /days/ to get to Konaha."

"There's no way a girl can run that fast." Kankuro said, stepping out from behind Temari. "I'll race you to." Kankuro stopped and looked around. "The slide." He said, approaching Sakura. Sakura let go of Gaara's hand and stood next to him. "Tem, can you count down?"

Temari rolled her eyes "Ready? Set, GO!" she said.

Kankuro took off. Looking to his right, wanting to see how slow Sakura was Kankuro was shocked to see she wasn't there. Looking ahead, Sakura sat at the top of the slide, looking down at the sand siblings with a smug smile on her little face. Kankuro gasped and fell over his feet.

"Sakura-chan, you're amazing!" Gaara yelled admiration bright in his eyes. Temari gasped. "Come here Sakura." She said slowly. Sakura ran over in seconds. "Seeing as you have no place to stay for the night, and that the sun is already set, you can stay with us for a while." Temari said, kneeling in front of Sakura.

Gaara jumped in joy and Kankuro picked himself up huffily from the ground and dusted himself off. "Com on, you lazy bum, let's get home." Temari said in Kankuro's direction. Grabbing Sakura's hands Temari and Gaara took off to the front of the park, leaving Kankuro to take up the rear.

* * *

Hello people. I've been looking into my old stories and have decided they need some touching up. I've redone this first chapter. Leave me some reviews, let me know what you think!


	2. Guardian Angel

Sakura had finally found a home.

It turns out Gaara's father was the Kazekage. One look at the pinkette, grasping Gaara's hand, the Kazekage fell in love.

- 13 years later -

Sakura finished sealing a scroll with all of her belongings in it and slipped it into her back pocket. Together; Gaara, Sakura and Kankuro were heading to Konaha to compete in the Chunin Exams.

Dressing in warm clothing, Sakura headed to the door and yelled for Temari, needing the older girls' keen sense of fashion. Standing by her bed in tight fitting black pants and a short-sleeved pink shirt, Sakura eyed the clothing on her bed critically. The door swung open behind her and Sakura sighed.

"Do you think I'll need a bathing suit?" Sakura asked; laid out on the bed were two rather skimpy bikinis. One was black and white with polka dots and the other had cherries all over it.

"I think you should bring an extra turtle neck." A deep voice said from behind her. Swinging around Sakura let out a breath when she saw Gaara leaning against the door frame. "You're too protective." Sakura grumbled, sealing them both in her clothing scroll.

"Well, who else is going to look out for you?" Gaara asked, backing into the hall when Sakura left the room.

Sakura smirked, grabbing Gaara's hand she bolted down the stairs; running into Kankuro's broad chest.

"Hey there pinky!" Kankuro exclaimed, steadying the younger girl. "We're leaving ASAP, are you ready?" he asked, stepping away from the stairs.

Gaara nodded at his brother and Sakura thought for a moment. "Well, I'm going to grab something to eat, but otherwise I'm ready." Sakura grabbed an apple and together they left the house and locked the door behind them.

Ambling through the village the three enjoyed the sights and said goodbye to the village. Stopping at the village the three saluted the guards and exited the gates.

Shading their eyes against the harsh sun the three bid farewell to one another and took off, Gaara used his sand to transport to Konaha, and Sakura used her superhuman speed. Kankuro… well he ran like an idiot.

Gaara arrived first and waited an hour for Sakura. When Sakura ran up, the two entered the village and subjected their papers to examination. Sakura was immediately uncomfortable; the village was full of painful memories. Gaara wrapped an arm around her waist and they made their way through the village, receiving interested stares.

"Do you want to get some ramen?" Gaara looked around for a moment and shook his head. "I'll go check out a room at the hotel." Gaara muttered. Sakura nodded and took off for the nearest ramen stand. Sakura paid for her ramen after enjoying it thoroughly, it was odd actually paying; Sakura would steal from the stands to stay alive when she had lived there. Walking through a rough part of town, Sakura was reminded that Konaha had a dark side to it. A sharp groan came from an alley to the left of her.

Quietly peeking into the alley Sakura nearly screamed out. An angelic little boy was being beat on by a group of older men. Pulling a kunai from her back pocket Sakura gave a yell that would make a grown man quiver in his shoes; but these men had been drinking, the smell of Sake was hot on their persons.

The men turned slowly and didn't register quickly enough that they were about to be viciously attacked. Sakura fell on the first man like a rabid dog; ripping hair from his head, Sakura slammed his head into the concrete. The other two men stumbled away; Sakura tore their hamstrings, crippling them both. Sakura stared into their eyes for a moment, letting them see the eyes of their attacker, with that, Sakura broke their noses and jabbed at their temples; knocking them out immediately.

Sakura rushed over to the little boy and fell to her knees, pulling him into her lap Sakura healed him quickly and hugged him close. Sakura studied him closer; he was unconscious and was probably about 5 years old, she picked him up gently and ran up the side of a building, wanting to remove him from the horrid alley.

Sakura ran over the roof tops and sighed when she stood on her old homestead. The compound was untouched. In truth, her father had died before Sakura had even left the village. Sakura stopped and leaned against a tree, catching her breath. The healing had taken a lot out of her. The door was unlocked when Sakura tested it. The house smelled of stale air and cinnamon, a scent her mother had left behind.

Sakura carried the little boy into her old room and set him on the bed. Feeling oddly protective, Sakura kissed his forehead and left the room, returning with a wash cloth, Sakura cleaned off all of his visible skin, revealing three whisker scars on either side of his face; tucking him into the bed Sakura stared around the room for a moment before snapping off the light, and closing the door behind her.

Twelve hours later; just before dawn, Naruto, the little boy, opened his eyes and stiffened his little body. This wasn't his home. Nothing was familiar. _'The last think I remember, those men had me cornered.'_ Naruto shivered and left the warm, comfortable bed. Slipping into the closet when he heard footsteps, Naruto shook at the thought of being beaten again.

Sakura opened the door and saw the bed empty, scanning the room Sakura smirked when she saw the closet door slightly open and a very blue eye looking at her in wonder. Kneeling Sakura looked at the little boy and smiled, holding a hand out.

Naruto took one look at the woman and was tempted to throw himself in her arms and tell her all the things that were bothering her. Her green eyes were welcoming, tender and motherly, her short pink hair was curled around her face, giving her an angelic look. Creeping out slowly Naruto neared the woman cautiously. "Are you an angel?" Naruto asked; if the woman sprouted wings in the next 2 seconds he wouldn't have been surprised.

Sakura laughed out loud, crinkling her eyes. The little boy smiled too and his small cheeks colored, thinking he had asked something improper. "No dear one." Sakura sighed, taking his hand in her own. "My name is Sakura Haruno." She said politely, bending down to his level.

Naruto smiled and took her other hand, liking the way they felt in his. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, believe it!" he said it rather loud and Sakura cracked a smile. "Well then, Naruto-kun, are you hungry? I've made some ramen-" Sakura began before the little ball of energy in front of her interrupted. "RAMEN! Oh, please, please, please, gimme' some Kaa-san!" Naruto crouched in front of her happily, waiting for his answer, his stomach rumbling in happiness.

Sakura froze when he called her 'mother' but smiled and scooped him up into her arms, earning a whoop of delight. Tickling his stomach, Sakura slid gracefully down the stairs and into the kitchen. Naruto scrambled into the chair that was closest to the food and leaned over the counter, drooling as though he hadn't eaten in days.

Grabbing two bowls Sakura set one in front of him, they gave their thanks and dug into the ramen. Naruto ate twice as much as Sakura. Grabbing a rag Sakura cleaned Naruto's face and kissed his cheek. They sat out on the porch as the sun slowly rose over the horizon. "Naruto, you know I have to ask. Where are your parents? Why were those bast- people, attacking you?" Naruto stiffened and sat up straight.

"My mommy died giving birth to me… and my dad died, sealing the k-kubie into my tummy." Naruto said, rubbing a hand over his navel. "No one in the village likes me cuz' of the kubie, they call me a devil and hurt me…" Naruto's small face scrunched up and he fought back tears.

Sakura pulled Naruto into her lap and placed her head on his, pulling her locket from around her neck Sakura held it in front of Naruto. "My mother died giving birth to me as well." Sakura said, squeezing Naruto tighter. "This was the one thing she left me…" Sakura flipped it open and hummed the song softly in Naruto's ear.

Naruto looked into Sakura's face with a newfound respect, tears leaked from the corners of his eyes as he buried his head in her shoulder. The two of them sat like that for an hour; until Sakura decided they were done moping.

"Let's go shopping!" Sakura said suddenly, throwing Naruto into the air, earning a howl of laughter from the boy.

Sakura lifted Naruto into her arms and ran upstairs to the bathroom. "You have… 10 minutes to take a bath." Sakura said, filling the tub with warm water. Setting soaps on the side of the tub Sakura eyed him expectantly, and left the bathroom to clean the dishes from their breakfast.

Sakura stood in front of the sink and cleaned dishes, listening to Naruto splash around in the tub above, singing a random song. Two strong arms wound around her waist and Sakura spun around, a kunai at the neck of her assailant. Gaara's mint eyes looked down at her. "Where have you been?" He asked huskily, pressing his face into her neck.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief and hugged Gaara. "I've been busy." Sakura said vaguely. Gaara looked into her eyes and cocked his head when he heard the water running upstairs. "I found a little boy, his name is Naruto. He's the same as us." Sakura explained, holding Gaara's hands. Gaara gave her a sad smile and pulled her over to the couch.

Sakura explained the whole story to Gaara while fiddling with her locket. Gaara nodded in understanding and hugged her tighter. Putting his face close to hers, Gaara breathed in her scent and pressed his forehead to hers their lips were a hairs length apart when a loud bang from upstairs startled them apart.

Hearing Naruto yelp, Sakura threw herself off the couch and was in the bathroom in the blink of an eye. Naruto was wrapped in a soft towel, sitting on the floor with a small cut on his forehead. Sakura gathered him into her arms and healed the cut, kissing it better. Naruto's smile was watery but he smiled at her.

Looking at the state of his clothing Sakura cocked her hips and gave him a critical look, snapping her fingers, Sakura took them in hand and used a cleansing jutsu on them.

Leaving Naruto to prepare, Sakura closed the bathroom door behind her and looked up at Gaara. "I've never seen you act so motherly." Gaara commented, leaning against the wall "Where did you learn a cleaning jutsu?" Sakura scuffed her foot and blushed slightly. "I was in charge of the nursery for a few years and children get dirty easily." Gaara nodded slowly and went back downstairs.

Naruto emerged from the bathroom, pulling at his shirt self-consciously. Sakura smiled at him and ran her fingers through his hair. They descended the stairs and Naruto looked up at Gaara. "Hi, I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" he said, smiling. "Gaara." The redhead answered quietly. "Well, Gaara." Sakura began, lifting Naruto onto her hip, swinging a bag onto her shoulder. "Naruto and I are going shopping; you can come if you like." Gaara grunted and followed after the two as they left the house and walked to the market place.

"Why were you staying in that house? Whose is it?" Gaara asked quietly as they neared a stall. "It was my house." Sakura replied, her eyes hardening. "I'm going to renovate it; hopefully we can have a house here and in Suna." Sakura picked out a bright shade of orange paint that Naruto was eying.

"Want to paint your room orange?" Sakura asked, kneeling down to hand Naruto the paint. Naruto nodded happily and lugged the heavy paint around the market area. They picked out bedding, clothing, toys and food for the house and lugged it all home.

The three of them pushed open the door happily and put all the food away. "Gaara, go get Kankuro, he should be arriving soon." Sakura said, ushering Gaara out the door. Sakura handed Naruto some paintbrushes and she grabbed the paint. Together the two of them emptied the room of furniture and began painting. They finished painting in record time and began moving furniture back in. The room was finished before Gaara and Kankuro returned home. Dinner was even waiting for them.

Naruto came down to dinner dressed in a bright orange shirt and brown kaki shorts. Gaara and Kankuro came in ready to eat. Introductions were made and they enjoyed their dinner like a family.

"Seeing as I was so kind to cook for all of you, you get to wash the dishes." Sakura said, looking from Gaara to Kankuro. Kankuro began whining. "Why isn't the squirt helping us!" he eyed the smaller boy dangerously. Sakura smacked him in the back of the head. "It's Naruto's bedtime." Naruto sighed into his dinner tea and followed Sakura meekly up the stairs.

Dressing Naruto in his new blue pajamas and a little walrus hat, Sakura tucked Naruto into his very orange bed. "Kaa-san, I don't wanna go to sleep." Naruto whined, yawning loudly. Sakura smiled at him and rubbed her nose against his. "Well, the sooner you do go to sleep the sooner we can do more fun things tomorrow." Sakura said, humming as she watched Naruto's little eyes close.

Sakura left the room ad dressed in her own pajamas, swinging down to the kitchen Sakura laughed when she saw Kankuro in an apron, doing all of the dishes. "When you're done with those, you're room is in the basement." Leading Gaara upstairs, Sakura placed him into the room next to hers.

Sakura read for a while before falling asleep. Naruto's little arms shook her away, and she opened her eyes to Naruto's teary little face. "C-can I sleep with you Kaa-san?" Naruto asked, wiping the tears from his eyes. "I had a nightmare." Sakura pulled him into her arms and wrapped her blanket around him.


	3. A Dark Past

'Why is it so cold?' Sakura thought, rolling around to find her blanket. Cracking open her eyes Sakura groaned. Naruto had wound himself into her blanket and was sleeping rather peacefully… on the floor.

Getting up from her bed carefully, Sakura gave Naruto a kiss, stretched and made her way downstairs.

Gaara was sitting at the bar, head in his arms. Sakura prodded him until he groaned "Can I please have some coffee?" He asked quietly. Sakura giggled and put a pot on to brew. Looking around the kitchen, Sakura decided on rice, miso soup and omelets for breakfast.

Starting by steaming the rice Sakura set to work cracking eggs and whisking in milk, dashi soup and a pinch of sugar. Pouring it into the rectangular pan, Sakura set to work making the miso soup.

Putting a pot of dashi soup on to boil, Sakura began expertly cutting up potatoes, mushrooms, abura-age and carrots. Adding them to the now boiling dashi soup stalk, Sakura let a bowl of dashi and miso paste dissolve. Adding it back to the stalk gently Sakura set a lid on it and let it simmer. –For anyone who is interested in Japanese cooking, I found a very helpful website. Message me!-

Returning to the omelet, Sakura folded it into itself professionally and flipped it onto a plate. Grabbing some plates, bowls and utensils, Sakura made a plate for Gaara.

Slicing the omelet into sections, plating some rice and adding a few bunny apples to it Sakura set it on front of the half asleep red head. Preparing Gaara's coffee the way he liked it, Sakura slid it along the counter into his waiting hand.

A few minutes later, as the smell of food wafted through the house, Kankuro and Naruto's sleepy heads made their ways into the kitchen. Sakura made them each a plate and grabbed Naruto some apple juice.

Breathing the smell of her coffee in deeply, Sakura leaned against the stove and watched her boys eat their breakfasts.

As the boys finished their food, Sakura set them to some chores; Gaara had to return to the hotel for his things ten come home and vacuum, Kankuro had to clean the kitchen, and Naruto had to prepare for the academy.

Bathing Naruto herself, Sakura made sure the boy was squeaky clean. Dressing him in an orange swirly shirt and black cargo shorts, Sakura equipped him with a few blank scrolls for writing, 2 kunai and shuriken, and a lunch made up of octopus sausages, bunny apples, panda cookies and an onigiri in the shape of a heart.

Naruto grumbled about the girly lunch but was ecstatic when Sakura let him wear her Suna headband around the house.

Sakura walked hand-in-hand with Naruto through the village, not only comforting him, but showing the community that he had someone looking out for him now. After a few people studied Sakura, people began to realize who she was. People dashed away from the pair of them, no doubt to spread the news.

Entering the academy gates, Naruto looked around nervously at the children running around playing. Sakura kissed him on the head and took him into his home room.

Walking up to the Jounín at the front of the class, Sakura cleared her throat to get the man's attention. As he spun around, Sakura gasped. "Iruka-sensei?" she asked in shock. Iruka looked puzzled for a moment until her took into consideration her bubble-gum pink hair. "Sakura-chan!" he said, hugging her one-armed, careful of Naruto.

"Well, I never expected to see you again, nor could I predict you toting Naruto around like a lost chick. How have you been?" Iruka exclaimed, taking the two of them in. Sakura smiled self-consciously and set Naruto down. Sakura explained how she was now a head nurse at the Suna hospital.

Bending down to down to Naruto, Sakura explained "Naruto, Iruka-sensei was my tutor when I was in school. You're very lucky to have him as a teacher." Naruto smiled at her, then at Iruka.

Standing back up Sakura sighed happily and looked Iruka over. "Well, aren't you lucky to be teaching a class now?" Iruka nodded and was about to explain when the bell rang and children began pouring into the classroom.

Sakura started to excuse herself but Iruka stopped her. "Think you can help me to explain healing techniques?" Sakura smiled and nodded, tying her hair into a ponytail. Naruto scrambled to his seat after storing his bento box.

"Good morning, little ones!" Iruka began, handing out scored papers from the previous day. "Now that that's taken care of, let me introduce to you, Haruno Sakura!" Sakura stepped forward and smiled at the children.

Letting Sakura take over, Iruka took a seat on his desk. "How many of you have gotten hurt before?" Sakura asked, every hand in the class went up, Sakura smiled. Summoning a Kage No Bunshin, Sakura took out a kunai and sliced a small cut on the clone's knee.

"How many of your mommies bandaged your cuts and kissed them better?" Sakura asked; the children raised their hands again. Sakura waved a hand over the cut, healing it quickly. Some kids gasped, they were all leaning forward in their seats.

"Now, I'm going to cut the clone again, it won't hurt so don't worry." Sakura cautioned, flinging a kunai into the clone's stomach, blood spotted its shirt. Gasps filled the room again. Sakura held up her hand again and waved it over the wound, it healed, and Sakura pulled up the shirt to prove it.

"I do this everyday of my life, I save lives and it's a great feeling. If any of you children want to be healer when you've grown, start working on chakra control now." Sakura answered a few questions and destroyed the clone.

Leaving the class in awe, Sakura excused herself and headed to the sign up area for the Chuunín exams, conveniently located down the street. Signing in, Sakura was given three hours to return home before the exam was to be taken.

Before heading home, Sakura stopped by the grocers and picked up materials for Yakizakana with curry.

Walking into the house, Sakura was happy to see it had been vacuumed and the kitchen was spotless. Depositing the food on the counter, Sakura began frying the Herring. Leaving it to cook on the back porch, Sakura softened the vegetables and added the curry sauce. Leaving it to simmer, Sakura took a quick shower, leaving a clone downstairs to keep the kitchen from starting on fire.

With a towel wrapped around her head, Sakura went downstairs in search of the boys; she found them engrossed in a game of Shogi. "Lunch is going to be ready soon." Sakura said, startling them from their adept concentration.

Kankuro cheered, running for the kitchen. Gaara leaned back and looked Sakura over. "How was Naruto's first day?" He asked in his rough voice. "Well, I met an old teacher." Sakura said, and explained how the class went.

"Come feed me, Sakura!" Kankuro yelled from the kitchen. Sakura and Gaara ambled to the dining room opened to the well kept garden; Sakura dished the food and served the boys. "The Chuunín exam is going to be in about, an hour and a half." Sakura said, glancing at the sundial to her left.

Gaara finished first and headed off to prepare for the exam. Leaving Kankuro to clean up all the dishes Sakura headed to Gaara's room. Without knocking Sakura opened the door and cringed when she saw Gaara without a shirt on. Spinning around faster than Sakura could comprehend, Gaara was pressed Sakura against the door.

"Maybe you should knock next time." Gaara said, his breath smelled like mint and Sakura began turning red when she realized she had been leaning forward. Gaara groaned and leaned his head against the door, breathing in her scent.

Gaara nipped at her shoulder and spun Sakura out of the room. Standing in the hall, Sakura quietly gasped. '_What the f-._' she thought, blinking like mad. Rushing into her room Sakura locked the door and tried calming down. Examining her shoulder, Sakura had a O.o look on her face and sat down on her bed hard.

Shaking off the awkward feeling Sakura dressed in her ninja garb and fastened her Suna band in her hair. The three of them headed off to the exam office, an awkward silence between Gaara and Sakura. Kankuro looked at them in confusion, but decided not to ask.

Arriving at the exam area, they were all ushered into a room full of other children. A 52 page exam was set in front of them and they were told to begin. Sakura finished the exam 2 hours after it was handed out, and leaned back, completely sure of her 100% score. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gaara's Third Eye roaming around, stealing answers from other students.

"The first test is over, please proceed to the gates of the Forbidden Forest straight away; if you fail to do so, you WILL fail this test!" The proctor barked at the children.

Sakura disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving behind a log. She had created a shadow clone to finish the rest of the test and was already waiting at the forest.

Gaara, Kankuro and Sakura finished their romp through the forest in record time; even though they had stopped to torment some children along the way. Returning to their home, the three lounged around the house and Sakura brushed up on her training. When the time came to get Naruto, Sakura left the house and ran to the school. She had missed her little boy.

"Kaa-san!" Naruto yelled, running over with a boy in tow. The boy was shorter with black/blue hair that stuck up at odd angles. "This is my mommy teme." Naruto said to the other boy.

"You don't call other people that!" Sakura scolded, staring Naruto down. Holding a hand out to the boy Sakura smiled sweetly and introduced herself. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke." The smaller boy said. "My brother said you're a great ninja." Sasuke said, adoration shining in his eyes.

"Ah, your brother is Itachi-sama?" Sakura asked. Sasuke nodded madly and opened his mouth to say something else. "Sasuke, time to come home!" A voice called from outside of the academy. Scrambling around, Sasuke gathered his things and said goodbye.

Naruto sighed as his friend left and together they ran a few errands, including picking up ramen for dinner and the letter pairing everyone for the final exam.

Rushing home Sakura put everything away, fed Naruto and opened the letter with Gaara and Kankuro.

_Sabaku no Gaara vs. Enzyme Higurashi _

_Sabaku no Kankuro vs. Fujita _

_Itusmi Kane vs. Iva Kazame_

_Iaziel Hoshi vs. Gina Ryuichi _

_Haruno Sakura vs. Itachi Uchiha _

* * *

I'm sorry if things seemed to rush at the end. It's 3:54 and i'm getting kind of fuzzy in the mind. PLEASE REVIEW! Let me know if you liked it, hated it, want me to finish redoing the chapters! I have 12 more to do! T_T

Please review!~

~Morgan Louise


	4. Fallen Angel

Hello people. I wanted to know what you thought about the story so far… Do you think the cooking information is obnoxious? Let me know if you have any problems with my story or if you find any grammar mistakes. ~REVIEW~

~Morgan Louise

Gaara covered his face with his hands and sighed heavily. Sakura smiled, she knew facing Itachi would be a challenge worth her while.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked, kneeling in front of Gaara. When Gaara faced her, he looked 10 years older with all the worry on his face.

"Itachi is a powerful person Sakura, I- I really don't want to see you hurt by that pretty boy." At this, Sakura smiled at him. "Well, if that has got you worried, I'll personally see to it that the arena floor is mopped with his pretty boy face." Gaara rolled his eyes and headed to his room to prepare for the final test.

Leaving Kankuro in the living room, Sakura went into the kitchen to begin packing Naruto's lunch for the next day. Leaving the kitchen 2 hours later with 4 lunches made Sakura was fuzzy in the head. Rubbing her face, Sakura stumbled to her door; closing it firmly behind her Sakura pulled off her shirt and collapsed onto her bed with a happy sigh. Snuggling up to her pillows and grabbing her stuffed animal Sakura stretched like a cat and fell asleep.

Gaara was woken suddenly when the door to his room opened and closed, looking up, he saw Sakura stumble in. Gaara's face started on fire when Sakura pulled off her shirt.

When she sat on the bed next to him, Gaara went rigid. As Sakura cuddled into him, Gaara smiled when she fell asleep he wrapped his arms firmly around her and pulled her close. 'Well, she _did_ come in here.' He thought happily.

In the morning Sakura didn't want to wake up, everything was so warm and there was a nice breez- snapping her eyes open Sakura looked around quickly. Gaara was sleeping next to her, his arms wrapped firmly around her. Before Sakura realized it she was running her fingers over the muscles in his arms that stood out against his sun bronzed skin, he shifted closer to her and Sakura froze, slipping out of his grasp Sakura grabbed her shirt from the floor and began pulling it on while leaving the room.

In the hall, Sakura pulled her shirt firmly down and sighed. Turning around she froze, Naruto was standing behind her, the most peculiar look on his face. "Kaa-san… what were you doing in Gaara's room without a shirt on?" Sakura's mind scrambled. "Welllll, I was showing Gaara a, ah, birthmark I have on my back…" Sakura finished with an awkward smile. Shrugging his shoulders, Naruto raised his arms to be picked up.

Carrying the little blond downstairs, Sakura gave him apples and orange juice for breakfast. Rushing him upstairs after seeing the time, Sakura yelled loudly through the house for the guys to wake up and meet her at the arena. Slamming the door behind her, Sakura ran a checklist through her head. Lunches? Check. Naruto? Check. Letter of admission for the three of them? Check. Smiling, Sakura grabbed Naruto and ran the rest of the way to the Academy.

Iruka was playing a game of Ayatori (Cat's Cradle) among a group of small girls. When he saw Sakura he excused himself and walked over. "Well, good luck today. In case you're wondering, I'll be taking the class down later to watch the battles." He said hugging her around the shoulder. Sakura nodded and took a deep breath, smiling up at him. Giving Naruto a thorough kissing Sakura set him down to play and left for her exams.

The exam arena was packed with people, a room to the left led her to the team waiting rooms. Studying the examinees Sakura giggled, they were going to be push-over's. One look at them and Sakura could tell their weak points. A red headed boy in the corner favored his right side. A girl making a fuss in the back of the room used long range techniques, you could tell because her fingers were unblemished with calluses and scars. Itachi Uchiha stood to her right, evaluating the room, same as her. He stood stiff as a board, careful not to give any secrets away.

Sakura caught the Uchiha's eye and she nodded to him respectfully, he let a smirk slide over his face and he inclined his head as well. As the proctor yelled for everyone to quiet down Sakura wandered to her side of the arena to prepare for her battle. Sitting cross legged on the floor Sakura meditated for the first 5 battle sequences. When Gaara's battle was up Sakura watched from high above. Gaara waited for the female he was up against to make the first move, she made the stupid mistake of rushing him. 

Gaara cocooned her in the Sand Coffin and ended the battle promptly. Gaara exited the arena amid the whispers of the crowd. Sakura clapped for him and seated herself again. A few more rounds before her and Itachi…

When Sakura's name was called the crowd was silent, they remembered the little girl they believed to be dead and watched her walk into the center of the arena, as beautiful as a cherry blossom. Many bet Sakura wouldn't last mere moments with Itachi in the ring. None of them knew an epic battle was about to take place.

When the proctor called for them to begin, they bowed respectfully to each other and when Sakura looked back up he had disappeared. Breathing in and out Sakura cracked her knuckles and slammed her fist into the ground, as the arena floor crumpled Itachi appeared from the debris and stared at Sakura with a new light in his eyes. He was excited.

Advancing on him in his time of shock, Sakura managed to get a thin slice on his cheek before he loped away. As Sakura waited for him to make his next move she studied him, Sakura stiffened when she felt a kunai pressed to her throat. Swearing colorfully Sakura wound her way under the kunai, gaining a deep cut on her shoulder. Passing a healing enhanced hand over the cut, Sakura sighed when the pain disappeared.

The two ninja began a furious hand to hand combat ritual. They were moving faster and faster and soon no one could keep track of who had the upper hand, they were too evenly matched. When a clod of earth hit Sakura in the back of the head, she faltered and looked around, shocked. Before she realized it, 4 shuriken were lodged in her abdomen, grunting quietly Sakura ripped them out, bending over to catch her breath she created hundreds of clones and they filled the arena.

The clones took advantage of the clogged area and managed to injure Itachi in many places. Sakura regained her composure and began to run full tilt at Itachi. Sakura realized too late that he had disguised himself as a clone of her amid a sea of look-alikes. Skidding to a halt and propelling herself backwards, Sakura was shocked to see a figure running toward them on the field.

Turning her head in slow motion, Sakura watched little Naruto throw himself in the way of the oncoming kunai, she watched them slice through his shirt on its way to her. They embedded themselves into her heart and Sakura fell to the ground, face first. Itachi backed away, assuming the battle was over. No one in the arena spoke and Itachi turned his back to leave.

Hearing rustling behind him, Itachi spun around and gasped as he saw Sakura rising to her feet. As though the world was fading to black and white, Itachi watched as white leeched the color from Sakura's hair as she stood to face him. Her outfit, a once modest dress was now torn into two sections that faded to black, leaving behind the burning white Haruno symbols. An ominous chakra began leaking from her and Itachi gasped when two wings shot out of the girls back.

Sakura and Itachi stood facing each other for what seemed like hours before Sakura snapped her head up and her hair out of her eyes. An eerie gold cat pupil now replaced her usual spring green eyes. The chakra wings behind her began flapping, a rush of wind swept over the arena and Sakura shot into the sky.

The kunai that had been lodged in her chest fell to the ground and her locket fell out from under her shirt. Without any warning Sakura threw up her right hand and screamed "Hakasho Dansu!"

The ground under her began to shake as though an earthquake was brewing under the surface. Something surfaced from the rubble and bones flew into Sakura's hands, a six foot long blade was formed and Sakura swung it around, testing the balance. Looking Itachi in the eye Sakura posed and raised her left hand, gesturing for him to 'bring it on.'

Itachi blanched and pulled a kunai from his side pouch. Pointing the end of the sword in Itachi's face Sakura giggled madly and whispered "Damashii hakkei." A white mist fell from the end of the sword like fog and melted into the ground, the arena held its breath.

Bones surfaced again and a wolf, formed entirely of bones formed and raised its skull o the sky in a silent howl, the motion rose the hair on Itachi's arms and sent a shiver down his spine. The skeletal wolf was joined by two more wolves, they rushed Itachi. No matter what he did he couldn't kill them; and eventually they had him pinned to the ground.

Sakura giggled and walked on the air over to him, "Give." Sakura sang, Itachi's eyes widened and he nodded sharply. Sakura smirked and knocked him out. Before turning to leave, Sakura grabbed Itachi's left leg and flipped him onto his face; backed by her wolf skeletons, Sakura took a victory lap around the arena.

Dropping Itachi, Sakura rose into the sky, a scream rocked her body and the black and white Sakura faded, and the original fell to the earth like a falling star.


	5. A Constant Shadow

Thank you to the 2 people who reviewed the last chapter! I read the reviews and wanted to finish the next chapter, so thank you Angel897 and Akatsuki'sBloodyNekoNinja.

Ummm, this chapter is going to be riddled with spelling mistakes and it's going to be quite short, I broke my pinkie and it's in a giant ugly splint. Let me know of the grammar mistakes you find and I'll fix them!

!REVIEW!

* * *

It wasn't the silence that woke Sakura; it was the murmur of voices and the unimaginable pain. Coming too, Sakura realized she was being operated on. A nurse stood over her with a defibrillator and Sakura sucked in a breath when the charged paddles came into contact with her skin, jerking her body wildly with volts of electricity.

The nurse's eyes widened when she saw Sakura responding. The nurse turned to the heart monitor and then back to Sakura. There was no sound in the room except for the shrill beep of a heart monitor that had flat lined. Sakura shook her head drowsily, she was beyond sore and her chest hurt where they had shocked her.

"H-how are you not dead?" one nurse murmured, seemingly not to notice. The doctor in the room rushed over to Sakura's side and placed a hand to Sakura's throat to test for a pulse; he pulled away sharply when he felt none.

Sakura realized slowly that they were reacting to the lack of beating in her chest, sitting up slowly, Sakura held a hand to her chest and started shaking; the astonishment she was feeling was overwhelming.

Drifting into a silent, black dreamless sleep, Sakura remembered thinking one thing. 'There is no human in this world without a pulse. What am I?'

* * *

This time, when Sakura awoke she was calm and composed. But the room was not empty, Naruto was cuddled into her side with her Suna headband wrapped around is eyes. Gaara was leaning against the wall on the far side of the room.

Sakura pushed Naruto far enough away so that she could sit up and then pulled him tight against her. How wasn't _he _dead? Sakura clearly remembered the kunai hitting him. Pressing her hand to her chest, remembering the blow from those very same kunai, Sakura felt a deformed lump under her shirt.

Pulling out the locket Sakura gasped, the center was dented in and a small pin point of the metal had been pierced. Opening the locket, Sakura sighed in relief when the music filled the room. At least the locket hadn't broken.

A rustling from across the room made Sakura snap the locket shut and snap her head up. Gaara was looking at her with the most peculiar look on his handsome face. Walking slowly over to the bed, Gaara gently took one of her hands into his own, pressing her warm hand to his face Gaara sighed in relief. In a second Gaara had pulled her hand to his chest and his other hand was resting on the back of her neck, Gaara looked deeply into her eyes before capturing her lips in his own.

They shared a moment of pure ecstasy, and Sakura leaned hungrily into the kiss, it was so odd, the feeling of striving toward another person. As the kiss worked its magic, their moment was ruined when Naruto began shifting in his sleep, mumbling something about Beef Ramen; he fell back asleep, on top of Sakura now.

Gaara sighed and kissed the tips of Sakura's fingers before turning to leave. When the door closed behind him Sakura touched her lips carefully, afraid of wiping the feeling of joy away.

Shaking Naruto after a few moments Sakura realized that hardly anything could wake the boy. Sighing, Sakura nudged him until he fell from the hospital bed onto the floor. Naruto hit the ground running and was standing with a kunai in his hand in a moment, the Suna headband over his eyes and facing the wall. "Who's there?" he asked, pulling the headband off.

Turning to the bed in confusion Naruto's face lit up when he saw Sakura awake and sitting up. Naruto threw himself into her arms with a whoop of joy. "Kaa-san you beat Itachi-kun, Sasuke-teme lost our bet and had to tell Ino-pig that he lurved her!" Naruto spouted off. He rambled on about what had happened after the fight and Sakura suddenly turned stern.

"What did you think you were doing?" Sakura asked loudly, turning Naruto's happy face into one of shame. "What if those kunai had killed you? I would be left all alone!" Sakura said sternly, pulling Naruto into her lap. "But, Itachi-kun was hurting you!" Naruto explained, gripping the bedside tightly. Sakura sighed "That's the point of a battle." Sakura explained. "I needed to prove how worthy I was, I'm happy that you care about me, but you can't throw yourself into danger like that."

Naruto nodded and hugged her. Sakura sighed and kissed the top of his little blond head.

* * *

After Sakura was discharged from the hospital later in the day, Gaara announced that they would be returning to Suna in the late afternoon. Sakura sighed at the prospect of a long tiring journey and pulled her hospital bag over her shoulder. Gaara took all of her bags from her and placed a gentle kiss on her temple. "I'll take care of you until then." He said softly, grabbing her hand.

Naruto grabbed her other hand and shot Gaara an envious look. "Kaa-san, do you love me?" Naruto asked cutely, Sakura smiled and kissed their joined hands. "Of course I do." Naruto smiled brightly and shot Gaara a devious smile.

When they arrived to the Haruno compound, Kankuro had cooked up a lunch of… take out. It seemed no one in the house could cook except for Sakura. Whatever Gaara made had sand in it, Naruto could only cook instant ramen and Kankuro turned even the simplest recipe into a charcoal lump.

After enjoying their scarce lunch the small family unit set to covering all the furniture with tarps, closing all the shutters, unplugging all the appliances, folding up all of the bed linens and packing their scrolls.

Gaara was a constant shadow of Sakura, frequently taking projects from her hands when she looked the slightest bit tired. When Naruto noticed how much of a help Gaara was being, he tried helping too, but just made a nuisance of himself.

Around the time the four of them had packed all of the linens into the bulging closet, a Konaha-nin stopped by to drop off their letters of passage. They were all officially Chuunín. "Kaa-san?" Naruto asked, holding the letter in his hands. Sakura faced him. "Can I be a ninja like you and Gaara-san when I grow up?" Naruto asked, looking down at his feet.

Sakura giggled and pulled him into a tight bear hug. "You can be anything you want dear." Sakura said, setting him down. Naruto skipped away to Gaara to brag about how great of a ninja he was going to be.

When the quartet left the house, Sakura locked the door behind them and left the spare key with the around-the-clock gardener they had hired. Walking slowly through the town, they were sent some fearful looks, and Sakura was reminded once again that she had no idea what she was. Gaara swept her onto an entire different train of thought when he kissed her swiftly on the neck.

When they reached the edge of the forest, Sakura picked up the drowsy Naruto and tied him to her back, putting his scrolls next to hers in her side pack. Sending the other two a thumbs-up, they all took off. It had been decided earlier that they would all take the normal ninja way of travel; they didn't want to upset Naruto with jet-lag.

The first few hours of the trip were uneventful, until Gaara noted a group of Nin closing in on them. "Sakura, hide Naruto." He ordered quietly when they stopped in a clearing. Running off about a mile Sakura found a hollowed out tree and placed the drowsy and confused Naruto into the notch. "Kaa-san?" he asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Looking around for any sign of people Sakura turned to him again. "I need you to stay right here, Naruto. Do you understand me? No matter you hear you cannot come out. Promise me you won't." Naruto nodded sleepily and leaned against the inside of the tree; falling swiftly to sleep.

Sakura turned and gathered herself to sprint away when a group of men surrounded her.

Sakura tensed to jump high and escape but one of them directed a kunai toward the hollow where Naruto was sleeping.

"Come quietly, and we won't hurt the boy." Sakura couldn't tell which one had said it but she nodded and relaxed her muscles.

They jumped her before she even knew what happened.

* * *

Gaara used his Third-Eye to scope ahead of him and he finally stumbled across Sakura.

The Akatsuki-Seven had her pinned through the heart to the ground of the clearing.

Gaara's mind hummed with a panic. And the clearing exploded with sand.

REVIEW!


	6. Darkness

Because of the insane traffic I've been getting on my stories, I'll update today! :D Thank you

~ApatheticKid for wishing my pinkie better! I bestow upon you a magical COOKIE!

Miss Minaj suggested that I make Sakura more affectionate toward Gaara; I agree I will do that, when they see each other next :D.

Thank you Miss Minaj for reviewing and letting me know what you thought :HINTHINTOTHERPEOPLE:

I love it when people tell me what they liked and didn't like about my stories, so don't be shy and let me know if I messed anything up or if you think there's something I can improve on.

* * *

The Akatsuki-Seven were thrown away from Sakura's body by a thick wall of sand.

Gaara's eyes were a piercing red and he was obviously losing his grip on Shukaku. Kankuro grabbed the nearest member and stabbed him in the abdomen; he fell to the ground.

Gaara seized a handful of the members in his Sand Coffin and when he clenched his fist the clearing filled with shrill screams. The mangled bodies fell to the ground, still squirming.

The final member of the Akatsuki was smarter than the others, and was obviously a higher up member. He kept his distance from Gaara's sand and when he neared Sakura's body he grabbed her up and held a kunai to her throat. "Her heart still beats, sand master." He called. Gaara faltered and called his sand back to him.

The Akatsuki member laughed loudly and released a genjutsu he had been holding. The fallen members that were being bound by Kankuro's exploded into smoke and Kankuro was thrown back into a tree, he slid to the ground unconscious.

Akatsuki members filled the clearing for mere moments and when they cleared out, Sakura's body was gone.

* * *

There was nothing in the room when Sakura woke up.

Everything was black.

Everything was gone.

There was nothing.

Sakura threw herself to her feet and began to run, ignoring the blood that was running from the wound in her chest. Looking back, Sakura was shocked to see a trail of crimson drops following her. There was no other color but that blood.

Sakura collapsed due to blood loss and her mind wandered feverishly.

Gaara, Kankuro, Temari and Naruto. They all flew around in her head.

Sakura soon became aware of the fact that things were getting lighter. Looking up in a daze, Sakura saw something heading toward her.

As Sakura scrutinized the thing, she realized it wasn't a thing, it was a person. Whose every fiber seemed to be made of light. A woman kneeled next to Sakura and placed a hand over her heart. Sakura groaned when a searing pain shot through her.

The wound in her chest healed itself quickly and the beautiful woman smiled down at her. "Hello child." She called softly. Sakura rolled toward her, gasping from the pain. The woman looked so familiar to her; her eyes were a spring green and her hair was the shade of every red known to man fuchsia, pink, copper and scarlet fell to her shoulders in soft ringlets.

The woman helped Sakura into a sitting position and wrapped a strong arm around her shoulder. "Do you remember?" The woman asked; her voice seemed to fade in and out, like sunlight on a cloudy day. She began to hum; a song so familiar that Sakura raised her hand to her chest and turned to the woman in wonder.

"Daughter, my dearest." The woman cooed, placing a searing kiss on Sakura's brow.

Sakura's mind reeled for a while before the pain allowed her to think clearly. "Kaa-san?" she asked unsurely. The woman's smile increased and she squeezed Sakura's shoulder. Sakura pulled the locket out from under her shirt and opened it, the song came out eerily in the dark place and her mother sang along with it.

"In this realm, I am called Joshin Ainoko Kurayami Aadakouda Desu. The Goddess of Darkness and Death. But you, my dear, may call me mother.

Sakura's mind filled with questions and she opened her mouth. "Hush, dear one. All will be explained in time." She craned her neck and kissed both of Sakura's eyes; and she fell back into sleep.

* * *

Sakura opened her eyes to a garden, one straight out of a mythical garden. A boy stood off in the distance, he was dressed in a black robe with a white and red obi wrapped around his waist; one of his hands was pressed firmly to the ground, and sweat was beading on his forehead.

A group of adults and children, dressed similarly to him, stood around and cheered him on. Sakura watched bones flow from the ground into his hands, a small field mouse formed and romped around and the group laughed, they were all at ease.

Every time Sakura blinked a new vision came to her. A long dinner table, filled with food and the hall was filled with soft music and chatter. A game of shukyu was being played in an open field.

In every vision, Sakura's mother was there, she sat in the shade and watched the boy summon his first animal from the ground, she sat at the head of the table and sang for her people, she played shukyu with the children and she walked through the gardens; her stomach was bulging.

When Sakura opened her eyes again she sat in a hospital room, bone reapers and their animals filled every bit of space in the room, on the hospital bed, Sakura's mother sat, breathing heavily and holding a bundle in her arms. "Little one, you will do great things. But you must accomplish them alone; you will face many difficulties and make a great deal of enemies, and a handful of treasured friends." The woman paused to catch her breath.

Pulling a locket from around her throat the goddess placed it around the child's own and tapped it, it turned crimson. "I must leave you, stay strong my loved one." With that, the goddess closed her eyes, and her heaving chest stilled. The occupants in the room flickered and disappeared, the animals fell to the floor, not longer able to hold their forms.

Sakura returned to her mother in the dark room. "Why didn't our clan take me?" Sakura asked bitterly. Leaning into her mother's embrace. "Our clan of Hone Kariten exists in the legendary realm of the God's. When I passed, the gateway was sealed. I wasn't strong enough to bring you back with me." Sakura nodded, still slightly bitter.

"Why don't I have a pulse?" The goddess smiled and pressed Sakura's smaller hand to her chest. Her skin was warm but there was no beat under her skin. "We are Immortal, if there is a time we decide to end our life that is the only way we will cease to exist." Sakura nodded and breathed in deeply, the smell of flowers filled her nose and she smiled happily. Freezing, Sakura turned to her mother's kind face in shock. "Gaara must think I'm dead!" she nearly wet herself at the thought.

The goddess smiled sadly and stood up. Sakura followed suit and hugged her mother tightly, realizing the goodbye that was taking place. The goddess stepped away from the embrace and Sakura's world exploded into light.

Sakura came too screaming. The room was in chaos, doctors had been thrown back against the walls.

Sakura realized quickly that she was in Bone Reaper form and she flung herself out of the hospital bed she sat on.

The Akatsuki members on standby in the room rushed her, she dealt with them easily. Using her wings, Sakura flew quickly from the room. Spending a few moments collecting her thoughts, Sakura ran into the maze that was that Akatsuki compound.

Taking out member after member Sakura was surprised, this was easier than it should have been. A great hulking blue man known as Kisame, according to Suna's bingo books, jumped in front of her, brandishing a wrapped weapon. Sakura summoned her blade of bone in a second and bore downward on Kisame's sword. He yelped when Sakura pumped her wings, he was thrown into the wall. Sakura rushed him and stabbed him in the shoulder, summoning a pack of wolves to finish him off, Sakura set them upon him.

Moving to the next area, Sakura quickly incapacitated the rest of the Akatsuki higher-ups. Deidara in particular was easy to deal with, he was rushed by bird skeletons that stole his clay, and Sakura struck him down with her sword. The grunts fled. The Akatsuki leader's office wasn't hard to find. It was the only real office in the building. Sneaking into the room silently Sakura was delighted to see that he had his back turned to her and seemed to be sleeping.

Rushing him, Sakura jabbed him hard enough in the temple to knock him out. Before feinting he gave her a look of pure hatred and Sakura smiled gaily. Placing her sword in the care of a wolf that had followed her; Sakura searched the room for any useful information. In a filing cabinet hidden in a wall; Sakura found information on Naruto, Gaara and other tailed-beast carriers.

Folding them gently Sakura placed them in her scroll and torched the rest of the information. When the door to the office was flung open, Sakura was facing the door with her sword drawn ready to strike. The hall was filled with Konaha and Suna Black Ops. The Goddess energy in Sakura flickered and she reverted back to her normal self. As she slumped against a wall a Black Op. raced forward and caught her.

Sakura pulled his mask up and smiled at Gaara. "I love you." She whispered.

The world became black once again.


	7. The Number Eight

I struggled with doing this chapter for a number of reasons: You'll see what I mean after you read… I'm re-writing this story for those who don't know and I felt I should add the flare! :p Let me know if you hate it! I went with some of the original plot line in here (Kazekage missing= dead :[ )

* * *

Gaara held Sakura until they arrived back in Suna; when they arrived at the village gates they were admitted swiftly and Sakura was taken to the nearest hospital.

Seeing at the pinkette didn't have a heartbeat, the physicians attending to her were edgy and their healing remedies were limited. In growing irritation, Gaara flipped over two carts and broke a doctor's nose.

Returning to the Subaku compound Gaara placed Sakura into his room and was swiftly taken away by business. His father was missing and the role of Kazekage needed to be filled.

* * *

When Sakura woke, the sun had set and it was cold. Shivering violently Sakura grabbed a comforter folded up at the end of the bed and wrapped it tightly around her shoulders.

It smelled like Gaara, but it was oddly stale.

Looking around, Sakura realized she was in Gaara's room in their Suna compound.

Staggering to the mirror nailed to the back of his door, Sakura studied her appearance. Both of her eyes were badly bruised and her hair had grown from shoulder length to her lower back; new subtle colors weaved in and out, now there were deep reds and dark oranges.

Sighing, Sakura flipped her hair over her shoulder. Stumbling on unused legs Sakura fell into the hall way. _Where's Naruto? I remember leaving him in that… tree._ Sakura gasped and sent out her chakra; Naruto's familiar chakra flickered faintly from the backyard.

Running to the door, Sakura threw it open and looked around. Naruto stood in the far back, kunai and senbon were scattered around his feet, two targets stood at a distance and he was sweating and grunting in frustration.

Taking a break from the target practice, Naruto sat down and wiped the sweat from his brow. Focusing intently Naruto formed hand signals and clones popped up around him. Sakura sensed his chakra flicker violently; he began to sway.

Sakura stumbled forward and onto her knees behind him, pulling him to her Sakura ran her fingers through his hair; it was long… too long. "Naruto; dear." Naruto gasped and turned around, he looked wrong; the baby fat on his face seemed to have nearly disappeared.

"K-Kaa-san? You're awake?" Naruto began to tear up and he threw himself into her arms; he was taller now, by a lot. His little shoulders were broader and he looked… wrong.

Pushing him away, Sakura backed up slowly. Her hair caught under her hands and she fell backwards.

"What is going on?" Sakura stood on her shaky legs and looked down at the weeping... man. "It's been… so long. Gaara-kun almost gave up!" Sakura's heart sped up at the thought of Gaara.

Sakura fell to her knees. She was oddly weak. "Naruto! Tell me what's going on!" Naruto looked up and stood, he was taller than Sakura now. Naruto hugged her tightly and buried his face in her neck. Sakura ran her hands through his golden mane, sensing he needed the comfort.

Naruto picked her up and carried her over to the sitting area in the patio. Setting her down Naruto crawled onto the bench next to her and set his head in her lap. Placing on hand on her cheek, Naruto studied her carefully.

"Naruto, please." Sakura whispered, placing her hand over his.

Naruto gulped and looked away, the tears beading up in the corners of his eyes. "You've been… in a coma."

Sakura narrowed her eyes and her heart rate quickened. "How long?" she asked, making him look into her eyes. "Eight years."

Sakura gasped and her shoulders sagged under the weight of the news. Naruto sat up and put his arm around her shoulder. Sakura leaned into his warmth and tried coming to terms with everything.

Naruto stiffened suddenly and stood quickly, picking Sakura up into his muscular arms. "Gaara will want you." He said briskly. Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck in a daze. _I'm dreaming._

Naruto ran swiftly through the village; atop roofs and over lamp posts. The Kazekage tower loomed over the horizon. Dazed and in shock; Sakura let Naruto carry her without protest into the halls of the tower and through lines of security and gawkers.

Setting Sakura on her unstable legs beside an impressive set of double doors, Naruto faced the doors and knocked three times.

A grunt from within was all the affirmation he needed, scooping Sakura into his arms Naruto entered the office.

Gaara looked old and haggard, his hair had grown an impossible length and the lining around his eyes were darker than ever before. When he looked up from the paperwork on his desk he froze.

"Gaara." Sakura croaked, fighting to get him in her arms again. Gaara stood when Naruto set Sakura down. Sakura stumbled to his desk and reached across, brushing his robed with her emaciated fingertips.

Gaara grabbed her hand in his own and he walked slowly around the desk, not taking his eyes from her. Studying her fingers as he stood in front of her; Gaara's face seemed to lighten and he pulled Sakura roughly into his arms.

Sakura snaked her too-thin arms around his neck and held on for dear life. Gaara held her tightly for what seemed like a lifetime and pulled away; pulling her face to his Gaara captured her mouth in a kiss that swept the weakness out of her body.

Pulling him closer with her weak arms Sakura began to cry. "I love you, I love you, I love you." she repeated, her voice raw with dis-use. Gaara held her heart shaped face in his too-real hands. "Baby." He called softly; crushing her against him Gaara began to sob.

Naruto walked closer and ran his calloused fingers through her beautiful hair. Gaara grabbed his arm in a brotherly way and pulled him closer to Sakura.

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A happy ending of sorts: Review

I'm going to write more but… it's 2 in the morning and I don't want to ruin any information.


	8. Forgetful

Not many people were interested in the last chapter. Oh well… This is new month! Hopefully I can get a ton of views on this one!

My Birfday was yesterday!~

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It took Sakura a good month before she was able to walk by herself without wobbling, and even longer for her to regain use of her chakra reserves. When her twenty-fifth birthday passed, Sakura could hardly believe it. "How is it that I'm already 25 and have never gone on a single date?" she asked one evening, as her and Temari enjoyed a quiet dinner alone. "I mean, it's been over a month since I've been awake and Gaara has barley looked at me."

"Well, a lot changed while you were in that coma, Saku-chan." Temari pointed a knife in her direction while stuffing her mouth full of food. "He's the Kazekage now! He doesn't have time to swoon over you like he used too; he's got responsibilities now!" Temari shook her head and ate more of the breakfast Sakura had cooked.

Sakura quickly washed all her dishes and headed up the stairs, taking them slow due to her weakened body. "Sakura? How about we go shopping for the day? You've lost so much weight your clothes are hanging off of you." Temari said this from the bottom of the stairs; Sakura sighed and crawled to the top.

"Tem-chan, I just got all the way up here and you want me to go change, fix my hair, put on makeup and then crawl back down? How cruel." Backing up on her hands, Sakura almost escaped. Temari bolted up the stairs and was dragging Sakura into her own room, babbling about how she was going to dress her.

Wasting time on trying to find good looking clothes Temari gave in and dressed her in a flowing sun dress and a hat. It took two of Sakura's steps to match Temari's broad stride. They entered the shopping market swiftly and Temari has Sakura trying on evening gowns first. "Why in Kami's name would I need a gown?" Sakura demanded, pulling a gown of thick velvet over her head.

Temari clucked her tongue and threw new dresses over the door. "Gaara's family needs to be present tonight for his uhh… speech he's giving on the border oasis." Sakura groaned and pulled a sleek black dress over her head. It fell to her curves and brushed her thighs with a smooth rustle. Facing the mirror on the back of the door, Sakura ran her hands down the length of her body, smoothing the silk over her small curves. Pulling her multi colored hair into a messy bun at the nape of her neck Sakura smiled. The dress was perfect.

"Temari, I found the dress I want." Sakura pulled open the door and stood in front of the older woman rubbing her bare feet together self consciously. Temari smiled and pulled Sakura over to the shoes, settling with a strappy black high-heel; the two left the store. Temari dragged Sakura to the salon next. Before she knew what had happened Sakura's hair had been cleaned trimmed and was being styled for the speech. The cosmetologist exclaimed about how perfect her almond shaped eyes complimented her heart shaped face and full lips.

The day of pampering over, Temari took Sakura home for dinner. Naruto greeted Sakura with a sweeping hug; he had been away on a mission for the leaf village and had just returned. "How are you Kaa-san? Been eating enough I hope." Naruto looked her over carefully and smiled at Temari.

Sakura chatted with him as she cooked a simple dinner of ramen for him. Food was going to be served at the speech, she was told. Sakura slipped on her dress and touched up her makeup; she sprayed her hair into place and grabbed a small clutch purse from her vanity. If Gaara hadn't noticed her for the past few days, he'd have a hard time ripping his eyes away tonight!

Strutting from the house, Sakura quickly made her way to the restaurant the speech was supposed to take place in. The building was fairly empty which surprised Sakura. A waiter moved her to a table in the garden, Suna's night skies were dotted with stars and the dais she was sitting in was weaved with roses.

Feeling uncomfortably alone, Sakura seated her back against the building and looked out at the desert. This restaurant had the best view in Suna. Footsteps approached from behind and Sakura turned slowly. Gaara stood in the candle light in the doorway and looked at Sakura with a smile on his rugged face.

Walking up to her, Gaara placed a firm kiss on her lips and sat opposite of her. Sakura, blushing at the situation, turned in her seat to face him. After a waiter came and took their orders the two sat in comfortable silence for a number of minutes. Sipping on her ice water, Sakura studied the man opposite her.

"Wasn't there supposed to be a speech?" Sakura asked. Gaara looked into her eyes and smiled. Placing a hand in his pocket he fingered something for a few minutes.

"It was a hoax; I had to tell the board members something for a night off." Reaching across the table, Gaara ran his calloused fingers over her smooth ones. "Sakura, we've known each other a long time… These past eight years without you have been beyond difficult for me." There was a pain in his voice that worried Sakura. Squeezing his hand, Sakura smiled up at him reassuringly.

Standing, Gaara moved in front of her. Placing his hands on either side of her face Gaara leaned down and placed his head against her own. Sakura sighed and placed a hand over his and kissed his nose. Gaara backed up, blushing slightly. "This is going to be really stereotypical Saku-chan. It took me too long to ask you. For that, I'm sorry." Grabbing a small box from his pocket, Gaara kneeled and opened it.

A ring was nestled in folds of silk. "Will you marry me?" Sakura froze and a tear worked its way down her face, launching herself into his arms, Sakura kissed him deeply and began sobbing. Wiping away the tears, Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck and nodded frantically, to choked up to speak.

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The edition before this one, I didn't explain how it happened and time skipped over it, I felt you readers deserved this bit of romance.


	9. Japanese Tradition

Hello people!

I Need Reviews. NOW! :3 Thank you to all of the people that inspired me to finish this chapter.

I'll let you in on a secret. (REVIEWS MAKE ME UPDATE!) =3

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**:5 Years Later:**

Gaara held a small child in his arms; the child looked out from the protection of his fathers arms and made a cooing noise while reaching for his sister who sat in a highchair across the table. Gaara kissed him gently on the forehead and placed him in the highchair. Grabbing sippy cups filled with apple juice and slices of strawberries from the fridge and set them in front of the year old children.

Sitting in a chair between the two children, Gaara breathed in deeply of his coffee and sighed. Sitting back in his chair he used his sand powers to clean up the house, long tendrils of sand slinked around the house brandishing dusters or carrying disarrayed objects to their rightful places. The children cooed happily and sucked on their food and made random noises.

A sound from the upper floor ruined their happy family meal time. The sound was followed by a softer one then a mad patter of footsteps on the floor and the stairs. Gaara sighed and leaned back looking at the two children. "Mommy's awake." He called in a voice reserved only for his children. They stared at him blankly and continued chewing their food happily.

A woman with hair the color of the sunset ran into the room, kunai drawn, panting and looking at them in a surprised fashion. Flipping the kunai artfully into the air she chucked it at her husband (who continued sipping his coffee idly) Brushing her long hair behind her shoulder she approached the children and kissed them on the forehead.

Facing her husband she slinked into his lap and grabbed his coffee away from him. "You know it scares me when I wake up to a quiet house." She cooed, sipping on the slightly sweetened coffee. Gaara smiled and wrapped his arms around her curvy waist. Pressing his forehead against hers he smirked. "But Sakura, you know it's my job to worry you." His gravelly voice sent shivers down her spine every time she heard it and she kissed him smartly on the lips. Placing the coffee cup back on the table she stood up and pulled her floor length silk robe around her.

Gaara grunted in annoyance when she removed herself from his lap and returned to his coffee. "You know dear, Hiroshi has already started honing in on his sand controlling powers." Gaara said; studying his only son, a small clone of the sand master himself, as a small cyclone of sand bent toward him as it moved across the kitchen with a duster. Their daughter, Ai, laughed gaily at her brother's trick and with the motion, her tight, brightly colored curls bounced on her head.

Sakura smiled at her son and daughter and took a sip of her coffee. Checking the time she was happy to see that in a number of minutes, her other adopted son was going to drop in for a visit. It had been 5 years since Gaara and Sakura had married and as a mother, Sakura was pleased to say that Naruto would soon be tying the knot, with Hyuuga Hinata.

A few minutes of quiet bliss followed until a loud pounding on the door to their house echoed through the house. Sakura smiled and swept gracefully from the room, answering the door Sakura was immediately engulfed in a hug from a taller and stronger man. "Naruto, I can't breathe!" she gasped pushing the too enthusiastic blonde away from her. Naruto placed his hands on her shoulders and smiled brightly, his eyes crinkling with happy lines.

Sakura couldn't help smiling back and ushered him into the house. "Mornin' Gaara!" he called loudly. Grabbing up the two children Naruto hugged them tightly and they cooed in happiness. Even though they were young they understood who was holding them. "My God, have you two gotten bigger since the last time I saw you? I bet you missed your Aniki!" he kissed them firmly on their foreheads and placed them back in their highchairs.

Plopping down in a chair he smiled at the two older people and rubbed his face with a hand. "My Kami-sama, a wedding is so expensive!" he complained, looking to Sakura for some sympathy. Sakura poured him a cup of coffee and sat in between her husband and her complaining son. "Naruto! Stop complaining, a wedding only comes along once in a lifetime not only are you a Black op, but Hinata has the inheritance of the Hyuuga clan to back her up." Sakura chided punching him lightly in the shoulder.

Naruto sighed and gulped down the burning liquid without flinching. "The wedding is going to be next Wednesday. We're only inviting a small amount of people, just Tsunade, you four, Tem-chan, Kankuro-kun, and a few people from other villages." He rummaged through his neon orange jumpsuit and flung a decorated envelope onto the table and smiling brightly at his adoptive parents and blushed, obviously thinking about his Hinata-chan. Gaara opened the envelope and scanned the text, handing it to Sakura for another reading, and Gaara studied Naruto.

"Have you found a robe of Tuxedo you're going to wear for the ceremony?" Gaara asked this nonchalantly and sipped on his coffee, Naruto thought about it for a moment and paled. "No! Hinata is going to KILL ME!" he began beating his head against the table until Gaara's sand stopped him. "I have my Kimono from my wedding, following Japanese tradition, you'll wear mine." Gaara said this with his eyes closed and relaxed in his chair.

Gaara's Kimono was a startling onyx with a deep red top. The colors could easily be changed and the obi pattern could also be changed. Naruto stared at him with gratitude brimming in his eyes. "We'll stop by the tailors before I head to the office and you head around Suna to pick up the flowers Hinata asked for." Gaara flashed Naruto one of his rare smiled and stood, throwing his mug into the sink, he gestured for Naruto to follow his upstairs.

Leaving Sakura with two messy and rather sticky children to clean up.


	10. Of Lock and Veil

Hello there everyone! (If there /is/ anyone haha) HAPPY NEW YEAR!~ I thought it would be a great gift for this beautiful New Year Night.  
Thank you to all the people who Reviewed! I looked them over today and was instantly inspire! So thank you for that!  
I have other stories to look after so this isn't really my TOP priority~ But anyways, thanks a lot and I hope you all enjoy!

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Sakura pulled the lacy pink gown over her daughters head and kissed her on a round cheek. "Aren't you just perfect?" she cooed, rubbing her nose against her daughters. Turning to Hiroshi with a smirk, she noted him pulling at the bright orange tie around his neck; he looked stunning in his little tuxedo. Grabbing them both up into her arms as they squirmed about in their finery, Sakura smiled and brought them to the foyer. "Gaara; come help me put their shoes and coats on!" she called, sitting the children on the stairs. Taking their little socks from a basket in the living room, she knelt before them and pulled them over their tiny toes.

Gaara padded down the stairs adjusting his crimson tie and sighing. Grabbing Hiroshi's small dress shoes, he held him still and laced them up. Sakura slipped on Aoi's shoes and picked her up. "We'll meet at the Hokage tower?" she asked, tucking her dress up until it was thigh length. Gaara grunted his affirmation and together they walked to Suna's gates. Sakura kissed Hiroshi and Gaara on the cheek before taking off at a breakneck speed for Konaha. Gaara waited until the dust died around him and until he could no longer see Sakura on the horizon. Using his sand, the trip to Konaha was fast and easy.

Sakura stopped once or twice to let Aoi stumble around in the forest. Other than that, the trip was safe and uneventful. Showing her papers at the gate, she was granted access immediately. Letting her dress fall back to the ground, she checked the large slit up the leg to assure her weapons were still in place. Letting Aoi walk, Sakura held her hand and together, mother and daughter headed to the Hokage tower. Seeing her red-headed husband talking to another man, Sakura waited back a bit and approached when he left. "Anything I need to know?" she asked, standing close to Gaara's side. The Sand Master grunted and kissed Aoi on the head. "A citizen asking if you were going to be present at Naruto's ceremony." He said, leading his family to the ceremonial grounds.

The Hokage Towers main event patio had been decorated to the Ace's and the color scheme was orange and purple, a rather difficult choice, actually. Sakura smiled and tugged Aoi toward the chairs that had been set up for the visitors. Setting the children between her and Gaara, Sakura was happy with the level of security. "I'm going to go see how Hinata is." Sakura explained, sliding easily past her husband. Gaara focused on the children and waved her away.

Sakura slid into the building and headed into Hinata's dressing room. Seeing the girl dressed in a Western fashioned wedding gown, Sakura nearly cried. Setting her hands on Hinata's shoulders, Sakura smiled and crouched down next to the woman. "How are you?" she asked, moving Hinata's lavender curls out of her face. Hinata smiled and brushed on some blush. "I'm a little nervous." She admitted, making sure there was no flaw in her makeup. Sakura nodded and helped Hinata to stand and face the door. The ceremony was starting.

Sakura set out in front of Hinata and walked down the aisle, holding a bouquet of purple irises and golden tiger lilies, Hinata radiated beauty as she approached her soon-to-be husband. Aoi tottered in front of them, tossing yellow rose petals on the long stretch of carpet. Sakura smiled fondly and slowed as she felt an ominious presense.

Reaching to her leg, she pulled a kunai out as an explosion shook the very earth. Shoving Aoi into Gaara's waiting arms, Sakura turned and gasped as a dozen senbon embedded themselves in her pressure points and she fell to the floor in a dead faint. Hinata pulled a kunai from her bouquet and managed to deflect a few coming her way. The rustle of cloth surrounded her and the last thing she saw was the symbol of the Akatsuki against the harsh darkness of black silk.

One of the men held a kunai to Sakura's throat and mentally dared anyone to react to them. Gaara's sand destroyed the men, but two more took his place. Sakura and Hinata were swept away as a majority of the crowd threw themselves into the fray. When all the clones were defeated, the only thing left was Hinata's veil and a lock of Sakura's sunset hair.

Gaara lost it then and the ceremony grounds were flooded with sand. The screams from his own children brought him back to himself; the small children were being buffeted by the wind and sand. Falling to the ground, Gaara was joined by Naruto. Together, they approached the keepsakes left by their loves. Taking them in hand, a decision was made. "We leave tomorrow. At noon." Gaara growled, turning to his children with softer eyes, he picked them up and transferred them to the Haruno estate in Konaha.

Naruto waited until the ANBU had come and gone before he was able to leave. "Just you wait Akatsuki." He growled, tucking Hinata's veil into his Kimono, his eyes were hard and unforgiving.


	11. Burrowing

**Hello everyone! I hope this chapter finds everyone well! I decided it was time I slide back into writing! I need to learn to stick to something when I've started it!**

**I want to thank one person in particular for reviewing: **

**asutaro - You made an account so you could message me and favorite this story. For that, thank you so much!**

**There were many others that reviewed (You know who you are!) **

**Thanks a lot guys! **

**Enjoy.**

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Sakura's wrists were aching. Blinking wearily, she wondered why. They hadn't hurt this much since hers and Gaara's honeymoon-but that was a story for another time. Cracking her sore eyes open, she groaned and struggled with keeping her weak head up. As her eyesight cleared, she grunted and chewed on her bottom lip. The Akatsuki. Everything came rushing back to her. Shifting to move, she let out a gasp. Looking at her wrists, she noted without much enthusiasm the needle studded cuffs that were holding her wrists prisoner.

Looking across the room, she noted Hinata chained up, normal chains this time. Hinata was also given the courtesy of sitting at least. Shifting from foot to foot, Sakura rolled her neck until it cracked and she took a deep breath. Letting out a shout that sent ripples through the air, she nodded happily as Hinata began to rouse. The violet haired woman groaned and cracked her eyes open against the hard brightness of the white room. "What the hell…" she murmured, trying in vain to rub her head. "Where-?" sitting up straighter, she strained against the bonds, finding them tight and her attempt futile.

"Hinata, I need you to tell me if anything is broken." Sakura called.

Hinata shifted her legs and gasped. "Kneecap, definitely." She managed to utter.

Sakura focused her chakra and sent it across the room like a slow-moving fog of mint green. As it washed over Hinata, the woman let out a contented smile and Sakura focused on healing her wounds. As she finished up her task, Sakura let the chakra retreat back to her-leaving Hinata healed.

Hinata looked at her and chewed on her bottom lip. "Naruto told me that people were after you, but I never expected them to be this bad." Sakura laughed then, because it was something she thought she had left in the past. "For a long time." She affirmed, smiling gently. Snapping her head toward the door, Sakura wasn't surprised in the least when the door to their cell opened. A member, Sakura wasn't sure who; approached her and used a seal on her chakra. "No more healing." He said gruffly, unchaining Sakura. "Follow me." He said, exiting the room.

Sakura was a little surprised, this was… something new. Following the man swiftly, she was happy to see that they were treating her as a human, possibly even an equal. Following the cloaked figure to a room, Sakura entered it alone. Her heels clicked against the marble of the floor. The room was vast and cold, pure marble floors and obsidian walls. A formidable room indeed. "You're looking at the foundation of our base." A voice echoed out from the shadows, bright red eyes shone across the room and bore into hers. "I'm sure you're wondering why I've abducted you and your friend." The voice continued, sounding bored.

"You will help me and my members create a poison that can be dumped into water in small amounts. The effects must be disastrous. We aim to kill off all of Konaha; and you, my dear, will be our perfect bartering piece. Well, you and the Hokage's wife." Sakura nearly laughed. There was nothing these men could do to her to force her into creating such a devastating poison. "If you do not comply. We will kill the unborn child in the purple haired woman."

That had Sakura listening. "U-unborn?" she asked, trying to keep her voice even. "Yes, esteemed healer. Have you not noted the being growing in your friend?" Sakura growled at the man and stalked up to his desk. Before she could reach it, a pit opened up before her and it seemed to drop on forever. The distance across was too far to jump. "How will I create a poison with no herbs?" she demanded, gritting her teeth. Risking her village would be nothing compared to risking Hinata's baby. Naruto would never have forgiven her.

A soft chuckle echoed around the room. "You will be given access to the greenhouse. Remember though, below the soil there is still a layer of obsidian, it also has a seal-if you tamper with it we will know." He said, leaning back in his chair. "Now leave. You will be shown the greenhouse within a number of hours." His tone made Sakura's skin prickle. She wanted to kill that man.

Leaving the room, she was swiftly surrounded by members that led her back to the room. Leaving her no time to talk to anyone, they had her chained and they were gone. Hinata was, needless to say, a little thrown off. "Are you okay?" she asked, shifting to lean closer to Sakura. Laughing, Sakura looked up at her. "Couldn't be better." She said, the weight of the world seemed to be sitting on her shoulders. "Hinata... you're pregnant." Sakura said softly, maintaining eye-contact with the girl.

Hinata blushed a deep shade of red. "Well… yes, I know." If her hands were free, she would have fiddling her thumbs. "That's why you were getting married…" Sakura observed, smiling at the younger woman. "Well, congratulations." For a while there was silence as the two tried to get their thoughts in order. "I'm here to create a poison. During the times I am away from this room, I will be running scans of the building." Sakura said in the up-most confidence. Hinata sighed and nodded-they had to be there for something after all.

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Sakura spent 4-5 hours outside of her cell every day. Hinata remained there, though she was given a proper bed and books to keep herself occupied. The only reason they were being kind was to compel Sakura to try harder. The first few days, Sakura 'studied' the books. In all reality, she was using a Black Op jutsu that allowed her to craft her chakra into a 3D blueprint of the building she was in.

For the first week, she was terrified that the Akatsuki leader had been right-that the entire foundation of the building was made from obsidian. But then, a glimmer of hope shone out from a most peculiar place. The bathroom plumbing seemed to have no obsidian obstructing its path. It was a straight drop into the Earth.

Returning to the room that night, Sakura placed a seal on the room, assuring they would remain unheard. "Seeing as the Akatsuki already is aware of your pregnancy, you need to spend every waking moment in that bathroom, digging as far out as possible. Use morning sickness and personal hygiene as an excuse." Hinata was 100% for the plan and for a number of weeks that's how things went.

Sakura realized after a while that it was taking far too long for Hinata to dig the tunnel. Spending an entire afternoon of 'studying' Sakura sought out wolf bones and employed them to dig a tunnel in the middle of a heavily wooded area. Hinata only needed dig another 700 feet and she would be directly under the hole. They would be home free.

On the night before their 'escape' Sakura ran a check-over on Hinata. The woman hadn't stressed her body out too much-there wouldn't be any problems with the pregnancy as long as Sakura was there. As a total- the women had spent about 4 months trapped in the Akatsuki base. They didn't suspect a thing.

The 'poison' Sakura had been working on was nothing but a heart-stopping medication that, when added to a large body of water; would disperse and not affect anything or anyone. The Leader made her test it on herself-every time he was more and more pleased with the outcome. Though he felt it needed work-because it obviously hadn't killed her.

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The Raccoon and Fox patrolled the borders of the compound. Around them, men in black slinked through the darkness like water. Sending hand-signals across a field, a squad of men rushed the building.

Mayhem erupted and all hell broke loose. The battle for the compound was something fierce, though swift.

Reporting to the Fox, one man whispered of the 'valuables' not being present. The Fox let out a growl and slammed a fist into a tree. Every time they found a new compound, they always left empty-handed. He couldn't help feeling that time was running out.

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The night of the escape, Sakura and Hinata hatched a rather simple plan. Hinata would go to the restroom and send back a clone-Sakura would follow. For the past few months, the guards had been lax with checking them for chakra traces.

"Alright, good luck dear." Sakura called from her chained bunk as Hinata approached the door to relieve herself. Without a problem, they took Hinata away. Sakura prepared little things while they were gone. Beakers full of the un-diluted heart-stopping medication were tucked into her shirt sleeves, she had managed to sneak some metal pins as well-they served as amateur senbon.

Watching 'Hinata' enter the room. Sakura waited a few minutes before requesting to use the bathroom herself. The guards unchained her and they surrounded her. The first time Sakura had sued the bathroom, she was afraid they were going to follow her in and hold her hand as she went. Locking the door behind her, she did some seals that opened a small illusion in the wall. Sliding the dry-wall open, she slid into the crack and closed it behind her. Following the wall down, she was careful at the mouth of the drop.

Bracing herself on wither side of the wall, she let herself slide down. The soil and rocks sliced her palms but she stayed quiet as she hit the floor. Hinata had done a good job ridding herself of the excess dirt-she used an old trick of Sakura's and had sealed it all in a scroll.

Following the tunnel down, she spotted Hinata crouching by a bend in the tunnel. "Ready to go?" Sakura asked her, crouching next to the woman. Hinata was holding her stomach, focusing on the long walk ahead. Nodding, the two women took off-arms flailed out behind them; they shot off down the tunnel. It would take them a good half-hour to reach the hole to outside.

The two women knew the moment the Akatsuki realized they were missing. Explosions rattled the tunnel-sending dirt sprinkling onto them. "Seems Deidara has found our little entrance." Sakura muttered, dusting herself off. Sending Hinata ahead, she kept a watch behind them.

Deidara turned out to be a helluva lot faster than a pregnant woman and her companion. As they reached the exit tunnel, Deidara was rounding the final bend-in sight as he kicked up puffs of dust in his haste to get to them. Sakura gave the pregnant woman a hand up onto the surface before clambering up herself. Deidara came at her from below with a kunai; stabbing like a madman-there was only so much Sakura could do to avoid getting hurt.

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The Fox and Raccoon knew something was different as they scouted the area. This compound was unusually active-people streamed from the houses and ran back and forth, carrying out orders or taking themselves on a walk.

Signaling to some other members-a watch was scheduled.

Around the afternoon time-an explosion rocked the ground surrounding the base. Switching into high-gear the Black Op members scanned the area with their chakra.

Eyes flashing, Raccoon nodded at Fox and they started off. Finally!


End file.
